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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoChecks or account credits will go to Ohioans who bought certain e-books between April 1, 2010, and May 21, 2012; the amount depends on whether the book was a best-seller.

Ohio consumers who bought books for their electronic readers will begin receiving $4.7 million
in account credits or checks this week. It’s part of a
settlement from a 2012 lawsuit that accused Apple of conspiring with five
publishers to raise the retail price of those e-books.

More cash might be coming in the months ahead, too, because although the five publishers in
question reached a settlement, Apple continues to fight the claims in court.

“Ohioans should be able to purchase goods in a fair, competitive marketplace free from illegal
price-fixing,” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a statement. “I’m glad consumers who
purchased these e-books are able to recoup the overcharges they paid.”

The U.S. Department of Justice and 33 U.S. states, including Ohio, brought the civil antitrust
case, accusing Apple of pursuing a conspiracy to undercut the e-book dominance of online retailer
Amazon.com.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote found that
Apple played a central role in the conspiracy. Cote said that Apple knew that no
publisher could risk acting alone to try to eliminate Amazon.com’s $9.99 price for the most popular
e-books, so it “created a mechanism and environment that enabled them to act together in a matter
of weeks to eliminate all retail-price competition for their e-books.”

The e-book publishers — Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster,
Macmillan and Penguin Group — settled the claims against them, without admitting wrongdoing, for a
total payment of $166 million; $4.7 million of that will be distributed to Ohio consumers.

A federal court approved the settlement on Dec. 6.

Starting this week, Ohio consumers will receive either an account credit or a check based on the
number of eligible e-books they bought during the claims period of April 1, 2010, to May 21, 2012.
The settlement administrator or their e-book retailer is to contact them by email.

According to a settlement website, the amount that consumers will receive will be based on how
many qualifying e-books they bought. Books that were
New York Times best-sellers will be credited at $3.17 per e-book, and others at a rate of
73 cents each.

Consumers could receive more later.

After Apple declined to settle the claims against it, the company went to trial in June 2013 and
lost. Another trial, tentatively scheduled for May, is set to decide the damages that Apple must
pay for the violations.

However, Apple is appealing the 2013 judgment, so the damages trial could be delayed, DeWine’s
office said.